Everything I say is subjective and based on my own likes/dislikes and most importantly, my priorities.
This is my 3rd Bose. I had a QC25 for about 3 years, then a QC35 which got stolen (hope that fellow is rotting somewhere). I had to decide what to get as a replacement. One of the priorities was cost as I didn't want to spend a lot.
Sony's XM 4 & 5 looked great especially XM5 which had ironed out a lot of kinks from XM4. But the thing with Sony is that their sound signature is quite bass heavy and in many sound samples, they just sound muddy. I agree there is Sony's app with equalizer but I also didn't like the Auto NC they implemented. Sennheiser had Momentum 4 which had a couple of things I didn't like (plus cost). I also checked Bose 700 and QC45. The issue with QC45 is they have removed the ability to reduce NC levels making it unusable in windy conditions. Bose 700 had strong head pressure and I don't like touch controls, plus expensive.
After watching tons of reviews of above headphones on YT and trying them in the stores, I decided to go with either QC 35 or this one, QC35 II. I'll detail my findings below.
Noise Cancellation: The difference in Active NC in most headphones is very little. Some cancel lower freqs better while some cancel higher freqs better. You can't go wrong with most good HP these days. But having the ability to control the level of NC is a big plus. The QC35 II has an extra button (compared to QC35) which I can program to control the NC level. This is very useful as I can wear it outside in windy conditions without the winding blowing my ears away. By setting the NC level to low, wind noise is totally eliminated. The QC 35 II did work perfectly on flights by cutting the aircraft noise. (similar to QC35).
Comfort: I felt the Bose to be the most comfortable HP amongst all I tried (above). I already have used the QC series before for years and I use the HP for long hours on a daily basis. I hardly feel discomfort, even after wearing them for 7-8 hours (flights). The cushions are soft and easy on the skin, the cups are deep enough for my big ears and the head band doesn't exert the pressure like the Hulk (or the Bose 700). I felt the Sony to be slight less comfortable when I tried them. The comfort is also in using the HP. I hate touch controls and prefer buttons, but the modern human needs to complicate things. Tactile buttons on the QC 35 II are simple, and just work.
Materials: Quality of materials is excellent. The top cushion on the head band is soft and comfortable on top of the head. The cushions are great, the cups are made of some fiber (but not plastic), so they feel light yet premium to touch. The buttons feel snappy and firm to touch. The head band extension mechanism is also straightforward and easy to use without having to take them off (unlike the Bose 700 which I felt were quite horrible in this aspect due to its extension design)
Price: QC35 II being an older model, I got this for about 21.5K INR. Lot better for what it gives me compared to QC 45, 700, or ones from other brands. This price worked well for me as this purchase itself was a sudden expenditure that I had not budgeted for.
Sound: The Bose sound signature is relatively flatter compared to Sony (especially), but the sound stage feels wider and the sound itself feels more natural and authentic. Very difficult to explain unless one hears it themselves. I like this signature because of the type of music I listen as well as for gaming. You can use 3rd party equalizer apps if you want to tweak the sound (not the best solution) as the Bose app doesn't allow equalizer settings for the QC35 II like they do with QC45 (3 band that too). Sony does this better. But to my liking this works and I have no complaints.
BT & Connectivity: You can connect to 2 devices at a time (sound only from one, but useful in case of receiving calls). The BT connectivity setup is fairly quick and without hiccups. The HP also comes with an audio cable (3.5mm audio port to 2.5mm HP port). This allows you to use the HP when the battery is down as well. Still can't use NC when its charging, though, but I read that it was for safety reasons. The BT connectivity is decent distance wise but in Indian homes, moving from one room to the other caused the connection to break. I'm guessing this is due to the construction of home (thicker walls? brick & cement? IDK) but this doesn't happen when I'm abroad and move across my house. But this is not a negative. One more thing I couldn't care less about is the Voice Assistant. I didn't want this feature and I don't use it on these HPs. I also don't want a machine listening to me and learning stuff.
In the box: The pouch the HP comes in is great. It is sturdy enough and flat and comes with pockets. Great. The audio cable is good as mentioned above. It comes with a USB-micro USB charging cable, but it is very short. But they don't provide you with an airplane adapter. I still have mine from the QC25 but, seriously Bose. You can't include a small plastic thingy for this price?
Overall, for the price and for what it offers, I felt it was best to go with something I was comfortable with. The QC35 II ticked all the boxes for me.
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